On May 17, 2006, at 22:22, Janice Blair wrote:
Alice wrote:
<And having lace on garments is coming back in fashion.>
I was at the hairdressers last week reading one of those magazines
that just have lots of things to buy. It had an article about lace
including lace wallpaper, but the thing that caught my eye was a tote
bag made of raffia or straw with a border at the bottom of about four
3" squares of Irish crochet. There was also some crochet on the large
fastener. What got my interest and astonishment was the price -
$3,500. It was by Dolce & Gabanna <sp> Some people must have more
money than sense but it was good to see lace on unusual items.
That one sent me digging through some old, almost forgotten, "stuff"...
:)
Years ago -- long before I started making BL -- I made myself a
pocketbook for summertime "occasions". Took a 50-cent, cream-colored,
13"x8" filet-crochet "doily" as the base (those things used to be dirt
cheap in antique and second-hand stores; probably still are). Folded
the length: 7.5"+1.5"+4". Made it into an "envelope" bag by crocheting
two sides (1.5"x4"), each with a strong loop at the top, to the folded
doily. Made a (same colour) lining. Same size as the bag, but with the
bottom (1.5"x8") re-inforced with a strip of flexible plastic (cut off
an old binder, but almost anything would serve, as long as it's
washable). Crocheted a tab for the front, hammering in half of a snap
through the (re-inforced) lining first. Crocheted a cord to go through
the side loops (I like bags which hang over the shoulder and low enough
for easy access to my pack of cigs <g>). The second half of the snap
was pounded in through both the "doily" and the lining. And I added a
couple of crocheted "buttons" (scrounged off MIL's bedjacket that she
was about to toss out) to dangle off the tab, "for fun".
The doily was $0.52 (tax included <g>); the matching crochet cotton
(for sides, front tab and cord) was about $1. The lining was fabric
left over from lining curtains and the hammer-in snaps I always had on
hand for the Polish style pillow- and quilt-cases and for my son's
clothes (those crotch snaps, which make a diaper change easy, were a
_revelation_; I'd seen nothing like that back in Poland of 33 yrs ago
<g>)
Thanks, Janice, for reminding me of the bag. It's really too small for
everyday use, which is why it had been stashed in the back of the
closet for 20 yrs or so and entirely forgotten. But I dug it up just
now and it's still _nice_. Once it's washed, it'll go well with one of
the outfits I plan to take with me for the "CA wedding" (DH's nephew).
And I'll feel very, very smug about my -- parsimonious -- fashionable
wear :)
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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